Phantom Uprising
by Bryndel
Summary: AU In the kingdom of Amity, Princess Samantha Manson dreads her eighteenth birthday because the law requires her to be married to a prince. In frustration, she runs away only to encounter an unusual young man with snowy white hair and glowing green eyes. He brings her into a rebellion against the oppressive monarchy. Meanwhile, a dangerous evil looms in the shadows. DXS & TXV
1. Sacrifice and Loss

**Author's Note:**

**I've been reading quite a few Danny Phantom fan fics recently and I thought I would try out one of my own. I came up with this story while searching through all the fan fics for something more or less specific in mind. I couldn't find it, but that could easily have to do with the fact that there are thousands of DP fan fics and I don't have time to search through them. Either way, I decided if there wasn't one then I would just have to make on, and thus this story was born. It's kind of loosely based off of Aladdin, but it also has some elements from Les Miserables and a few other things. **

**Important Notes****: The story will be futuristic but with semi-medieval social systems and fashions. Also, ghosts aren't dead people, they are their own race in a separate dimension and don't really have much of an interest in the human world as none really ever come out of the Ghost Zone. **

**Well that's enough from me! Don't forget to review, it will motivate me to get chapters out** **faster. (I intend to attempt to get one out every two weeks though it may end up monthly depending on how nasty my Organic Chemistry class from here on out, but reviews will motivate me to get out more! Who needs to do homework anyway?)**

**Prologue: Sacrifice and Loss**

"Jack dear, would you get me those ectoplasmic samples from the refrigerator?" Maddie Fenton asked as she adjusted a microscope while peering into it.

"Sure thing sweet-cheeks!" Jack said enthusiastically as he set down his latest invention and turned around to open the refrigerator next to him. "Whatcha lookin' at?" he asked curiously as he set the samples down next to his wife's microscope.

"Thanks honey. I wanted to test a new staining method I came up with that I'm hoping will help us identify ectoplasm types." Maddie said as she started to prepare a slide for examining.

"That'll go great with the Fenton Melter I'm working on! It's melts ghosts into ectoplasm and destroys them! I can't wait to show Jazz and Danny when they get home from the academy!" Jack said excitedly.

Maddie smiled at her husband. "I'm sure they'll-" she was interrupted by a loud crash coming from upstairs.

"Ghosts!" Jack bellowed as he grabbed the Fenton Ghost Fisher and raced for the stairs. Maddie glanced around quickly before she grabbed an ectogun and started running after her husband.

The two of them had just reached the stair when they saw a blast of green energy coming right at them. Dodging out of the way, Maddie returned fire. She heard a grunt coming from the direction she had shot and nodded to herself in satisfaction before looking around for Jack. She smiled when she saw him busily trying to untangle the Ghost Fisher's line.

"Maddie look out!" Jack shouted as he grabbed a stray ectogun and fired at something behind her.

Maddie heard a hiss and turned around in time to see a ghost slam into a nearby wall. "Nice shot Jack!" She congratulated her husband as two more ghosts entered the room. One had a burn on his chest so Maddie figured it was the one she shot earlier.

"Thanks Maddie!" Jack said as they both stood up and positioned themselves back to back to fight off the ghosts in their lab. Maddie pressed a button on her belt and heard a faint hum that told her Jack had done the same. The button activated her jumpsuit's ghost defense system and various anti-ghost lasers to extend outwards.

"Come on! Dazzle me!" Maddie taunted at the ghosts as she beckoned them forward.

With wails of rage, the ghosts charged all at once, but Jack and Maddie were ready as they returned fire and held their attackers at bay. This continued for a few minutes before Jack turned to Maddie and said, "We're not getting anywhere like this! I'll cover for you while you grab the Ghost Weasel. Go!"

"Use this then!" Maddie said as she tossed Jack her ectogun. She then took off towards the other side of the lab where they kept the aforementioned device.

"Eat this spook!" she heard Jack say as he fired both guns at one of the ghosts that had gone after her. It hissed and, ignoring her sped towards her husband.

Using the opportunity Jack had provided, Maddie grabbed the Fenton Weasel and started to power it up while shouting across the room. "Jack! I got it!"

"That's great baby!" Jack said as he looked at Maddie with a grin. "Now we just have to-" he didn't get to finish that sentence as dozens of little ghosts suddenly filled the room and surround them both.

"What the-!" Maddie started to say before the little ghosts all lunged at once. They didn't actually cause her any pain she noticed as she began swatting at them, but they distracted her enough that they were able to tear the Fenton Weasel out of her hands. "Give that back you ghost scum!" She yelled in frustration as she tried to locate the weapon through the wall of ghostly forms surrounding her.

"Argh!" she heard a sudden cry of surprise and turned her head in the direction it came from.

"Jack!" She stared to run towards her husband when an attack from behind hit her and knocked her down onto the floor. Now scowling, she looked behind her to see one of the ghosts from earlier hide behind the wall of small ghost pests, effectively hiding itself from view.

She got to her feet and slowly tried to make her way across the room to where she heard Jack trying to fight off the ghosts assaulting him. With the low visibility, she knew that neither of them dared to use their ranged ghost weapons because they could easily end up accidently hitting each other. If they couldn't get back to each other, they were at a huge disadvantage.

Out of other options, Maddie reached into a pouch on her belt and took and a Fenton Ghostsaber. She gave a battle cry as she started to expertly spin the staff in her hands and strike at the ghosts surrounding her. She was starting to make progress until she heard a voice that stopped her in her tracks.

"What are you all doing!? Stop playing around and take them down! I don't have all day!"

The voice seemed to have a direct effect on the ghosts around her as they suddenly became much more hostile. The little ghost things bared their teeth started to dive at her with claws extended. She frantically fought them off while wincing in pain as they tore at her jumpsuit and left cuts all over her body. She was so focused on defending against the smaller ghosts that she was completely taken by surprise when a large fist came out from the swarm and hit her in the chest, knocking the wind out of her and leaving her sprawled on the ground.

Gasping for air, Maddie tried to get back to her feet, but the smaller ghosts took advantage of her position and attacked with renewed fury to make sure she stayed down. She gasped in pain as she tried to protect her more vital areas from the onslaught by curling into a ball.

She stayed that way as more attacks came at her from all sides. She started trying to fight the dark haze creeping in at the edge of her vision. Even though the cuts weren't very deep, she had a lot of them, and she knew she's lost a lot of blood. Just as she was beginning to wonder if she was going to die, the voice came again.

"That's good enough. Start dismantling the portal. I'll figure out how to unlock it once we get it out of here."

The ghosts immediately backed off and left a bruised and heavily injured Maddie Fenton lying on the ground panting in exhaustion. She squinted her eyes to try and get the figure standing in the shadows to come into focus. She already had her suspicions on who it was, but she wanted to confirm it with her eyes.

"You!" she hissed once she was able to see clearly.

The shadowed individual laughed as he stepped forward so she could see him better.

"It's been a while Lady Fenton. You and Lord Fenton stopped coming to the galas shortly after Lady Jasmine was born so I'm surprised you even recognize me. It's been, what, eighteen years?" he mocked.

"What are you after?!" Maddie demanded with as much anger as she could manage.

"Power, obviously. I'm going to turn this kingdom upside down, but I need to get into the Ghost Zone to do it so I'm here for your portal."

"What do you want with the portal?" Jack said from his spot five feet from Maddie.

"Ah, that would be telling wouldn't it?" the man said with a crazed smile.

"We won't let you." Maddie said defiantly.

The man laughed before he said, "And what do you think you can do in that state? You can barely move. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a coup to stage." He walked past Maddie to stand next to the portal and started to watch the ghosts disassemble it.

Maddie glanced at her husband and they made eye contact. Jack nodded at her weakly, but his clear blue eyes were as strong as ever. Maddie smiled back weakly before carefully reaching into her belt and pulling out her lipstick.

"We won't let you win you monster!" She yelled as she aimed the lipstick's beam at the ectofiltrator and destroyed it.

"Warning. System damage has been detected. One minute until portal's explosion. Please replace the ectofiltrator" A calm voice called out over the speaker system in the lab.

"WHAT?! NO!" The man screamed as he examined the damaged filtrator. He spun around and stomped up to Maddie. "WHAT DID YOU DO?!" He demanded as he kicked the lipstick out of Maddie's hand.

Maddie glared at the man fiercely and said "I protected my children and the rest of the kingdom from you!"

"Forty seconds to portal's explosion. Please replace the ectofiltrator." The calm voice said.

"ARGH! YOU!" the man pointed at one of the ghosts. "GET ME OUT OF HERE!" The ghost zipped over to the man and grasped his shoulders, turning him intangible. As the man was carried out of the room he glared balefully at Jack and Maddie below him and said, "At least you will pay for your insolence with you lives." With that he was gone and Jack and Maddie were left alone in the lab.

"Maddie" Jack said as he weakly started to pull his injured body forward towards his wife.

"What's going to happen to Jazz and Danny?" Maddie questioned with a shaky voice as she held out her hand and grasped Jack's firmly.

He pulled her towards him and held her in a tight embrace as they lay on the floor of the lab and listened to the countdown. "They're both good kids, I know they'll be able to overcome this. And they still have each other." He said in an effort to comfort his wife.

Maddie sobbed quietly into his shoulder as she pictured her two babies sitting in class as they heard the news about her and Jack. She pictured the two of them comforting each other as they mourned. She felt herself mourning over how she wouldn't be there for them anymore. She'd never see Jazz walk down the aisle. She'd never meet the girl Danny would fall in love with. She'd never get to see her grandchildren.

She felt Jack run his hand up and down her back in an effort to console her. His hand was shaking. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before her puffy red eyes met her husband's own tear filled eyes.

"You're right." She said. "They'll both recover from this. They're Fentons after all." She managed a small smile at her husband.

"Ten"

Jack smiled sadly at her and said, "I love you Maddie." He closed he eyes and held her closer.

"Nine"

"I love you too, Jack." Maddie said as she closed her eyes and buried her face into his chest and listened to the countdown.

"Eight, Seven, Six, Five, Four, Three, Two, One."

**Fenton Ghostsaber: We saw it in Maternal Instincts. It was the pole thing Maddie used to fight off the ghost animals that Vlad sent after Danny. It was unnamed so I gave it a name to make things easier in the future.**


	2. Imprisonment and Preparing

**Oh wow! Four reviews?! You guys are so awesome! I'm so excited I decided to post chapter one a week early as a thank you. I hope you guys like it, and then don't forget to review!**

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

**Imprisonment and Preparing**

Sam yawned lazily as she stretched out on the ground and looked up at the clear, blue sky. She was lying in the shade made by a patch of bushes that also served to conceal her from view so it was the perfect spot to spend the afternoon.

The soft breeze carried the smell of flowers through the air, and the cool dirt beneath her had a calming effect that only her beloved nature could provide. This place was a safe haven from the rest of the world. Here she couldn't even see the walls that extended high overhead and kept her trapped inside the palace. It let her pretend there was nothing holding her back. No gilded cage keeping her prisoner. She smiled and took a deep breath as she closed her eyes.

"Sam! Are you out here?" a voice called softly to her right.

Recognizing the voice, Sam sighed and, opening her eyes, she sat up from her hiding place to wave to a dark skinned girl standing on the garden path. "Over here Valerie." She called quietly.

Valerie gave her a wry expression as she stepped off the path and slipped through the flowered bushes until she reached her best friend. Sitting down carefully and looked around a bit before she said, "Great hiding place, the Queen has been looking for you all morning, but I can see why she hasn't found you yet." She raised her eyebrows and smirked in amusement.

"Well then, it's a good thing she didn't ask the First Lieutenant of the Guard to personally hunt me down or I'd be busted right now since she just found me. What does she want anyway?" Sam rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"She actually asked the maids to help look for some reason so I could pretend I just didn't hear anything." Valerie chuckled. "To answer your question: she's stressing over the ball tonight. I think she wants you to start getting ready."

Sam snorted in annoyance. "I definitely don't want to be found then. I don't want people fussing over my hair for five hours while listening to Mom complaining about the color of my dress. Maybe I'll just fake sick so I don't have to go."

Valerie laughed. "I don't think the Queen will buy that excuse this time. This party is important enough I'm pretty sure she'd force you to go even if you were on your deathbed."

"Oh yeah," Sam scowled, "I forgot about that. Which shallow prince is coming to appraise me like some trophy this time?" Sam said bitterly.

"Um… I think it was Prince Dashiel of Baskerville… or was that Baxterville? I honestly don't remember." Valerie frowned thoughtfully before looking at Sam with a grin. "So are you going to wear the fangs again? Or perhaps you've got a new plan to scare this one off?"

Sam broke out into a devilish grin. "Actually, I've got a jar of spiders in my room that I was planning to release into the guest wing he'll be staying in."

"No!" Valerie gasped before she started laughing. "Do you really?"

"Sort of, they're robots that look like spiders. I ordered them for an occasion like this. I'd never subject real animals to something as awful as a shallow prince. Wanna see them?" Sam arched an eyebrow at Valerie.

"I'll pass thanks. I'd rather just see his reaction tomorrow morning if that's alright." Valerie chuckled.

Both girls grinned at each other and then broke out into a fit of laughter. They were so distracted that they didn't notice the angry woman in a frilly pink dress marching along the garden path until she started yelling.

"SAMANTHA! I'VE BEEN LOOKING EVERYWHERE FOR YOU! GET OUT OF THOSE FILTHY BUSHES THIS INSTANT!"

Sam abruptly stopped laughing and scowled to look at the woman who was now tapping her foot impatiently on the stone. "They're not filthy Mom! What do you want?!"

Pamela Manson frowned and replied, "The ball is later this evening and you need to start getting ready! I won't have my daughter look like a scullion maid! Now get out here before I take away your holovision privileges for a month!"

Sam huffed and stood up before slipping through the bushes and onto the garden path next to her mother.

The queen gasped as she took in her daughter's appearance. "What are you wearing?!"

Sam looked down at her dark purple, midriff tank top, black cargo pants, and combat boots. "Clothes." She replied with a smirk as she met her mother's gaze.

Pamela turned a bright red and sputtered. "Where did you even get those horrid things!?"

"Uh… the guard house?" Sam answered.

"WHAT!? YOU'VE BEEN WEARING CLOTHES FROM THE GUARD HOUSE!? THAT IS IT YOUNG LADY! I'M TAKING AWAY YOUR HOLOVISION PRIVLEDGES FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK!"

"WHAT!? WHY?!"

"Maybe during your grounding you'll be able to answer your question yourself." Pamela sniffed before during her baleful glare on Valerie who had been quietly standing behind Sam the whole time. "Valerie!"

"Yes your Majesty!" Valerie said as she stood at attention and gave a salute.

"Escort my daughter to her dressing room and make sure she doesn't take any detours." She said before she turned around and briskly walked out the garden and into the palace.

"I'm sorry Sam…" Valerie started.

"Don't!" Sam snapped before she took a calming breath and continued. "It isn't your fault my mom's a troll in disguise." Sam glowered at the place she'd last seen her mother before she sighed. "Let's go then. No sense getting you into trouble with her too." She then started to march up the garden path towards the palace.

…

"Princess Samantha! You look absolutely gorgeous!" a maid said as Sam stepped out from behind her bedroom's dressing curtain in her ball gown.

Sam looked at herself in the full length mirror and frowned. If she was being honest with herself, she didn't look that bad even if she still hated the idea of going to the ball. She'd managed to convince her mother, with a little help from her grandmother, to allow her to pick out her own dress. It was purple with a black bodice, and its sleeves started out with a netted style before becoming a solid black that extended to her hands. It was very Goth, or at least as Goth as it could be for a formal ball gown.

With a little bit of prodding (blackmail), she'd also managed to get the hairstylist to listen to what she wanted. Some of her dark, shoulder length hair was up in two mini pigtails at the top of head while the rest of it fell loose and framed her pale face. But her good fortune had ended there. Unfortunately, the make-up artist was as prissy as her mom and refused to stray from her mother's standards. Her lightly applied make up made her cringe and she decided to fix it as soon as she got the chance.

"Sammy-kins, are you done yet?" A knock came at the door before it quickly slid open with a soft hiss and her mother entered. The queen stood in the doorway with her arms folded as she inspected her daughter with a slight frown. "I suppose it will have to do…" her gaze shifted to the frilly, pink dress laid out on Sam's bed and she sighed.

"Good because I'm not changing." Sam said as she crossed her arms in front of her.

Pamela sighed and walked into the room. She was followed by two men who were guiding a hovering cage with doves inside.

"What is that!?" Sam demanded with a frown.

"Prince Dashiel brought it with him from Baxterville. It's a gift for you." The queen said with a bright smile on her face.

"How thoughtful, he brought me caged animals to symbolism my own state of being. I think I'm in love." Sam said sarcastically.

Pamela frowned. "You don't need to be so dramatic Samantha. It was very gentlemanly of him."

"Whatever." Sam rolled her eyes.

"Your Majesties," Valerie said as she stepped into the room clad in polished armor. "I am here to inform you that it is nearly time."

"Thank you Miss Gray." The queen sniffed before she turned to Sam and said, "I'll see you down there in a few minutes. Be sure to wait for the introduction before you enter." With that she swept out of the room followed by the maids and the two men that had carried in the cage.

Sam sighed and turned around to the mirror to apply more makeup to her face. "I thought she'd never leave." She said as she thickened her eyeliner.

Valerie just chuckled as she turned to inspect the birds. "These are pretty, but I feel bad for the guy who thought it was a good idea to give them to you. What are you going to do with them?"

"I'll let them go tomorrow. It's too dark tonight." Sam answered as she applied a heavy layer of purple eye shadow and inspected herself in the mirror. "There, I'm not wearing Paulina makeup anymore." She said with a nod of her head.

"Paulina makeup?" Valerie raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, you know, the kind that makes you look fake and plastic." Sam said as she started to head for the door. It slid open and she and Valerie walked through it before it slid shut behind them.

Valerie grinned and said, "That fits. I'd never really thought about it before though since I don't have to wear makeup normally. If I do it's just a little, but who cares about my makeup when I'm shooting my blaster pistols at them?"

Sam snorted and replied, "I'm sure someday you'll find a guy that notices that, and he'll be the one you marry."

"Pssh! Not likely." Valerie rolled her eyes before shooting a grin at Sam who smiled back. They continued their banter until they approached the staircase that Sam was supposed to walk down. Sam frowned nervously.

"It'll be fine Sam. I'll be there if you need me to bail you out. I have authority to have anyone deemed a threat to your personal safety arrested." She snorted and continued, "I'll be on the south end watching you so just give me a signal." Valerie said as she started to turn down a different hallway to get to her post.

Sam smiled appreciatively at her friend. "Thanks Val."

"Anytime."

Sam continued by herself down the hallway until she reached the top of the stairs. She grinned as she didn't stop and began to walk down them without being announced. She was about halfway down the stairs when the announcement finally came in in a hurried voice.

"Announcing Princess Samantha Manson of Amity!"

Applause greeted Sam as she made the rest of the way down the stairs and stood beside her parents on a raised dais. Her mother was frowning at her as she held onto her father's arm.

"Samantha, you look lovely tonight." Her father said with a smile even though Sam could hear the frown behind it.

"What did you do to your makeup?!" her mother whispered furiously. "And I thought I told you to wait for the announcement!"

"I fixed it, and I must have forgotten to wait. Silly me." Sam said with a shrug.

Her mother's face contorted into a forced smile that made it painfully obvious to Sam that she really wanted to frown but couldn't in front of all the guests. Sam just grinned wider.

The queen looked like she was about to say something else when the king stepped forward and spread his arms wide to greet all the guests.

"My loyal subjects, we are gathered here today to celebrate the arrival of a new suitor for my daughter. As you all know, the law requires that the princess must be wed to a prince before she reaches the age of 18. With my daughter's eighteenth birthday swiftly approaching, we have been searching far and wide for a prince worthy of her hand. Prince Dashiel," He inclined his head towards a rather burly, blonde man standing at the foot of stairs leading up to the dais. "I hope that you will prove yourself worthy of her hand for my daughter is one of the elite.

"We of this court, who have been granted the divine right to rule over others, are the elite. Those of lesser pedigrees are meant to serve us. They are weak and we are strong! We must guide them in their weakness for they are nothing without us! Remember, we are the ones who shape this world! We are the elite!"

The king's speech was met with thunderous applause, but Sam, feeling sick, only half-heartedly applauded after her mother shot her a glare. She had never approved of her father's opinion on 'the Elite'. If she was against treating _animals_ with cruelty, she was certainly against treating other _people_ with it. It seemed wrong to believe that she was better than others just because.

Sam sent a glance towards Valerie in the corner of the room. She had a frown on her face, but, since she was a guard, she wasn't supposed to applaud; however, Sam knew that even if she had been a guest she wouldn't have applauded. It made Sam glad that she knew she had at least one ally in this madhouse.

She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice the blonde man in front of her until he cleared his throat. She turned to look at him with a bewildered expression.

"My I have this dance princess?" Prince Dashiel asked as he extended his hand toward her. She frowned as she watched his eyes unashamedly run up and down her form several times, but before she could refuse she heard her mother jump in.

"Of course she'd love to dance." The queen said as she gave Sam a sharp glance and pushed her forward a bit.

"Excellent!" the prince said as he grabbed onto Sam's hand and practically dragged her to the dance floor. Sam was already anxious for the night to end.

…

"… and then I had the boy whipped for speaking back to me." Prince Dashiel finished his story as and Sam danced.

"Is that so?" Sam said without inflection. She already hated this guy. As if he wasn't pompous and arrogant enough already, this had been the fifth time he'd managed to rope her into a dance. Every time she'd managed to sneak away he just come up to her a little bit later and drag her out to the dance floor again.

"Yeah well, that's what happens when peasants fail to bow as I walk past. If that had been all I he did would have just given him twenty lashes, but then he thought it would be a good idea to try and tell me he didn't know because he was new in town. Ignorant commoner."

'You're the ignorant one.' Sam thought as she narrowed her eyes and the prince. She was relieved when the song ended just then. "You'll have to excuse me again. I'm feeling a little light-headed and want to sit down." She said.

"Of course, would you like me to escort you?"

"No! Er... I mean… that's alright, I'm going to the washroom. No sense in you following me there."

"So I'm already making you light-headed huh?" the prince smirked. "I'll await your return fair lady." He said dramatically as he placed a kiss on her hand.

Resisting the urge to gag, Sam forced a tight smile and turned around. She all but ran into the bathroom. Once there she locked the door and pressed her back against it before sliding down to sit on the fine silk rug that covered the bathroom lounge. Not caring about wrinkling her dress, she pulled her knees to her chest and rested her forehead on them.

"System Command: turn the lights off." She said into the empty room.

"Command Received." The room repeated back to her before the lights shut off, leaving her in total darkness.

Sam sighed in relief as she sat in the dark room. It was quiet in there since the door shut out most of sounds coming out of the ballroom. She may have felt guilty to be hogging the bathroom, but this was only one of many in the women's lavatory wing the extended just beyond the ballroom and she was just too upset to care. She had half a mind to just stay in there the rest of the evening so when a soft knock came at the door she ignored it until she heard her best friend on the other side of the door.

"Sam? Are you alright in there? You left in quite a hurry this last time." Valerie asked. Sam could hear the concern in her voice.

"I'm fine. I'm just…sick of this place." Sam admitted.

"You want to talk about it?" Valerie said quietly.

"Nah, I just need some space is all." Sam replied before adding, "Thanks Val."

"I'll tell your grandmother you're feeling unwell and that's why you ran off for the bathroom, alright? She'll let your mother know and you can head up to your room."

Sam smiled sadly even though she knew Valerie couldn't see and said, "Thanks again Val. I honestly don't know what I'd do without you."

"Probably go postal." Was Valerie's reply, and Sam heard her footsteps fade down the hallway towards the ballroom.

Not want to waste a good opportunity to escape, Sam quickly stood and had the bathroom door slowly open so she could peer into the hallway. Once she made sure the coast was clear, she slipped out of the bathroom and began the trek for her bedroom.

The moment she walked through her bedroom's door, she stripped off her party dress and left it on the floor before crossing to her closet and pulling out a purple tank top and a pair of black sweats from the very back. Sam had to keep the clothes Valerie smuggled in for her in the back or her mom would find them and have them taken away and burned most likely. Either way, Sam never saw the clothes her mother confiscated ever again. She was just glad the queen hadn't figured out where she was getting the clothes.

After she was dressed, Sam threw herself on her bed and lay on her back to stare at the ceiling. She must have dozed off at some point because the next thing she knew it was dark in her room. She rolled off her bed and said, "System Command: project the time of day."

"Command Received." The room said and a small holographic device in the wall showed that it was 2:30 am.

"System Command: turn the lights on." Sam said, and a very dim light illuminated the room before slowly getting brighter so as not to blind her.

Sam walked up to the bird cage in the room and peered at the sleeping birds sadly. "Just a few more hours guys." She said before her eyes drifted to her nightstand where she kept a stash of birdseed for the birds outside. She walked over to her nightstand and opened the drawer only to freeze as a large jar full of robotic spiders rolled forward. She looked at it blankly for a moment before she broke out into a grin.

…

Deep in the heart of Amity, three black-clad figures stood on the wall that separated the inner city from the slums. The contrast between the two parts of the city was painfully obvious from their vantage point. The inner city was always lit up. The light came from billboards, holographic projections (both the artsy and informational kind) set up along the moving walkways, fancy hover cars that zipped to and from places, the windows of the sleek expensive buildings, and even just from light sources to make the place look like it was day even in the dead of night.

On the other side of the wall things were much quieter. Since most people didn't have reliable electricity, the town was dark at this time of night. Even those that did have electricity didn't waste it by staying up late. Not when they were trying to rest for work the following morning. The only exceptions were the few red light districts that let off a hazy glow into the night.

One of the figures whistled before saying in a deep baritone, "Man, as much as I hate the inner city people, this sight always impresses me. The tech here is so awesome."

"It just makes me sick." Another figure said in a slightly echoed tenor before crossing his arms in front of his chest and narrowing his glowing green eyes.

The first figured chuckled, "That wouldn't have anything to do with you living there once would it?"

"That's enough you two!" the third figure, a woman, hissed. "We need to finish this up before the operation tomorrow night and I'd prefer being gone by the time the next guard patrol passes this part of the wall."

"Alright Jazz, I'm on it." The first figure said before turning to his other companion and saying, "Mind turning this panel intangible and invisible Danny?" He gestured to a spot on the wall.

"Sure thing Tuck." Danny said as he reached out and placed his hand on the panel. Shortly afterwards the wires and mechanisms behind it could be seen.

"Alright, let's get to work." Tucker said as he pulled out a pair of pliers and a headlight before he started to sift through the wires, unhooking them from one place and reattaching them to another. After a few minutes of this he said, "Jazz, you've got the cell disrupter matrix, right?" and he extended his hand out expectantly without even looking up from the panel.

"Yeah, I'll get it out of my bag." Jazz said as she hoisted a bag off her back and opened it. She quickly pulled out a glowing green cube and handed it to Tucker who skillfully attached it to some of the loose wires he'd been holding in the pair of pliers.

"That should do it." He said as he leaned back to inspect his work a final time.

"Great, because we're out of time." Danny said as he peered into the darkness at something neither of his friends could see.

"How many are there Danny?" Jazz asked as she took a step closer to her brother so he could grab her arm.

"Five. They'll be here in about a minute." Was his reply as he grabbed Jazz and Tucker by their arms and turned all three of them invisible. Without another word, he floated them off the wall and into the sky over the slums towards home.


	3. Longing and Liberation

**Wow! Thank you all so much who reviewed. As promised, it's been two weeks and here's chapter 2! I really liked writing this chapter, but one part in it made me so mad! In a good way of course. Just a heads-up, chapter 3 may be a little bit late. I'm going to be preping for finals/taking them for the next two weeks so I won't have a life at all T_T, but then I'm on Summer break which will be fantastic. I guess that's the trade for no Spring Break. Anyways, enough from me. Enjoy and please don't forget to review! It really does motivate me!  
**

**Longing and Liberation**

Sam yawned loudly and slumped forward in her chair to stare the bowl of fruit in front of her. She was sitting in the middle of a long, mahogany table in the semi-casual breakfasting room with her parents waiting for Prince Dashiel to come in so that they could begin eating.

"Samantha, yawning like that isn't very ladylike. Please restrain yourself when Prince Dashiel comes in." The queen said from her seat about five feet away at one of the table's ends.

"I wouldn't be yawning if you hadn't had me dragged out of bed at six in the morning." Sam muttered to herself as she slumped further in her seat.

"You need to be ready for breakfast on time to impress our guest." Pamela justified with a sniff before adding, "And sit up straight. You weren't raised in a barn."

"Yeah, for breakfast at nine! Who needs to take three hours getting ready for breakfast anyway? And it's not like he isn't late himself! I could have slept in at least another two hours and been fine!" Sam said, completely ignoring her mother's comment about sitting up straight.

The queen sighed in exasperation and rubbed her temples before looking up at her husband and saying, "Jeremy, do you have anything to say?"

The king, who was examining a holographic projection, looked up. "Your mother is right Sam. We want you to impress this young man. He's clearly an upstanding youth a high moral character…"

Sam scoffed and the king frowned but whatever he'd been about to say was cut off my shouting in the hallway.

"THERE IS NO WAY I'M STAYING HERE! I'VE NEVER BEEN MORE HORRIFIED IN MY ENTIRE LIFE!" a young man's voice said.

There was a muffled voice before the shouting continued. "I DON'T CARE! I REFUSE TO STAY ANY LONGER."

Overhearing this, the royal family exchanged bewildered glances. At least the king and queen did. Sam hastily looked into her lap and bit her lip to hide her emerging smile.

"What on earth is going on?" The king asked as he and the queen rose from their seats and briskly walked into the hallway. Sam watched them go with a faint smile. She had an idea what was going on.

"Prince Dashiel, what's going on?" The king's voice carried into the room through the slightly open door. Listening, Sam eased into her chair and took a bite of cantaloupe. Clearly the prince wouldn't be joining them for breakfast so she saw no reason to wait.

"WHAT'S GOING ON? WHAT'S GOING ON!? I'LL TELL YOU WHAT'S GOING ON. I WOKE UP THIS MORNING TO FIND MY ROOM COVERED IN SPIDERS! THAT'S WHAT'S GOING ON!"

"SPIDERS?!" the queens horrified voice asked.

Sam just smirked and popped a grape into her mouth before lifting up a strawberry to inspect.

"YES! SPIDERS! HUNDREDS OF THEM! I'M SURPIRSED THE DEVILS DIDN'T KILL ME IN MY SLEEP!" the prince exclaimed and Sam rolled her eyes. He was such a drama queen.

"Please Prince Dashiel, we'll have you moved to a new room and exterminators will take care of the vermin. There's no need for you to leave." The king said in an effort to calm the young man.

"I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU DO! THERE IS NO WAY I'M STAYING HERE ANY LONGER. NOT WHEN THE CLEANING STAFF ARE CLEARLY OUT TO GET ME!" Sam scoffed in disbelief. This guy was seriously blaming the cleaning staff for being 'out to get him'?! What a pompous idiot!

"We'll see that the cleaning staff are properly punished for their negligence. Please, let's have breakfast and talk things over." Not able to hear anymore, Sam stood up, knocking her chair over in the process, and ran out into the hallway. There was no way she was going to let the cleaning staff take the fall for her actions. Her father would probably have them whipped!

When she came into the hallway she shouted, "It wasn't the cleaning staff's fault!"

Three figures turned to meet her gaze as she took in the scene in front of her. Prince Dashiel was red in the face, and a vein was popping out on his forehead. He was scowling. The king and queen both look startled, but the queen's eyes were beginning to narrow in suspicion.

"THEN WHO'S FAULT WAS IT?!" The prince shouted.

Sam frowned at him. The fact that he was still shouting proved how much of an ape he was. She took in a deep breath, squaring her shoulders and crossing her arms in front of her. "I did it." She said defiantly.

The impact in the room was immediate. All three royals gaped at her in disbelief, their eyes wide and their mouths hanging open (with the exception of her mother's who's hand covered her mouth). If the situation had been any less serious Sam would have laughed.

"Sammy, there's no need for you to take the blame…" her father started but Sam interrupted him.

"I'm not taking the blame. Last night I climbed the ivy on the walls and snuck into his guest sweet with a whole jar of mechanical spiders. I set them loose by opening the jar and rolling it under the sofa. You can check, I'm sure the jar is still there."

"Sammy-kins, why would you…?" the queen asked, a dangerous edge to her tone.

Sam shrugged and said, "I felt like it." She then turned and looked at the prince who looked confused. 'Poor guy, his brain clearly fried. I guess this subject is beyond his comprehension level.' she thought before saying, "Please, by all means take this as an invitation to leave because I honestly don't have anything more to say to you."

With that, Sam turned around and left the room, but, before she was out of earshot, she heard the prince say, "Good luck marrying her off."

* * *

Sam spent the remainder of the morning in her room in an attempt to put off the scolding her parents were sure to give her. Much to her chagrin, her parents seemed to have similar thoughts because they ordered Valerie to send guards to watch her bedroom door and make sure she didn't leave.

Valerie had shown up, guards in tow, with a sheepish expression on her face as she explained that her parent's purpose for that was to force her to 'self-reflect' the guards had said when she'd asked. Valerie also told Sam that Prince Dashiel had left for Baxterville and that the king and queen had shut themselves in the council room with the king's advisor. After that she left to attend to the other guards stationed around the palace.

That had been a few hours ago and it was now nearing midafternoon. Sam ignored the soft rumble from her stomach as she lay on her bed and scowled at the ceiling. Food had been brought up for her, but she wasn't in the mood for eating. She'd actually torn apart the roll that came with her light soup and salad and fed it to the doves that were still locked away in that cage. Her only regret over this whole thing was that she hadn't been able to release the doves yet due to her confinement. She couldn't even release them from her balcony because her parents had seen to it that the door leading out onto it was locked remotely.

Sighing, Sam rolled off her bed and walked up to the cage. She poked her finger through the bars and stroked one of the birds on the head. It cooed and flew to another bar in the cage where it perched and looked at her curiously.

"Guess we're both caged birds aren't we?" she said softly. "But the difference is you guys can fly anywhere you want once I open this door. I'll be let out of my room sure, but I'll always be stuck here. I can't fly over the palace walls like you guys."

Suddenly, the holographic display on her nightstand lit up and made a faint chiming noise that indicated an incoming message. Having expected it sooner or later, Sam turned around and folded her arms as she listened to the robotic female voice summoning her to the throne room. She had half a mind to ignore it, but then the guards stationed outside of her room entered and informed her that they would be her escorts. Her father wasn't going to take 'no' for and answer.

Ten minutes later she found herself standing in front of a large sliding door that led to her least favorite room in the palace, the throne room. She was only ever called here when she was required to speak to the king. He was never her father in that room, and she was never his daughter. She was a subject and he was the king. She already disliked him when he played father, but she hated it when he lorded over her as king.

Lost in thought, Sam startled a bit when the doors slid open. The pair of guards that had been standing in front of the doors crossed their electric staves in front of her, waiting for the king's permission to let her pass. In Sam's opinion, it was a stupid formality since he had been the one to call her hear and she'd never come here on her own.

"Enter." The king's voice called from the throne on the other side of the long room. The guards then moved out of her way and Sam stepped forward into the room.

As she approached the throne she kept her head held high. She wasn't ashamed of what she'd done, and her father couldn't intimidate her into feeling that she should. She met his disapproving gaze before glancing at the only other person in the room. She scowled and clenched her fists. Her father's advisor was standing to her father's right, an amused smirk on his face.

She had never been able to put her finger on it, but he'd always made her skin crawl. It could have been his pale skin, hooked nose, and red eyes that bothered her. She'd always thought that it gave him the appearance of one of those witches in fairy tales that ate children and commanded evil spirits. Or maybe it could have been the way his laugh always sounded fake and almost sinister to her. Or it could have even been the creepy staff with a bright, red gem resting on its top that he always carried around that made her wary of him. Make no mistake, Sam Manson was into Goth things like witches and spirits, but Lord Showenhower crossed a line somewhere into the sinister category.

"Samantha." Her father's voice turned Sam's attention away from the king's advisor. "I am very disappointed in your actions. You have embarrassed the people of Baxterville as well as your mother and I won't tolerate any more of this behavior." He narrowed his eyes and continued, "As you know, you are required to me married to a prince by your next birthday. You only have a few months left before then so it is more urgent than ever that we find a suitable husband."

"If you want to find me 'a suitable husband' than stop picking out shallow-!" Sam blurted before her father cut her off.

"SAMANTHA!" the king shouted before he took a deep breath to calm himself. In a quieter voice he continued, "I don't particularly care if you think he's shallow. To be perfectly honest, I don't care for your opinion in this matter at all. You're opinions on 'happiness', 'love', and 'individuality' aren't as important as your duty to the crown.

"You are the princess of a very large and prosperous empire. We have many other kingdoms under our rule, but Amity remains as our seat of power. In order to maintain order among our various holdings we must rule the commoners with an iron fist and rule the nobles through politics. This brings me back to my earlier point: You must find a husband. This is part of the political nature of ruling.

"However, since you have proven today to be incapable of making such an important decision as to which prince you will marry, your mother and I have decided to make it for you."

"WHAT!" Sam exclaimed, her face a mask of horror. "YOU CAN'T DO THAT! THE LAW SAYS I GET TO CHOOSE!"

The king rose from his throne to tower over his daughter. "YOU ARE FORGETING SAMANTHA. I AM HIGH KING. I _AM _THE LAW."

Sam took a step away from her father to put some distance between them but met his glare with a dark glare of her own. She hadn't expected that outburst and, as much as she hated to admit it, it had terrified her.

"If I may interject your Majesty," Lord Showenhower cleared high throat before continuing. "The law says that the princess may choose so long as she is capable of demonstrating the maturity required to make the decision. However, as Princess Samantha has so clearly demonstrated by her actions this morning, she is unfit to make a decision so vital to the stability of the kingdom."

"Thank you Lord Showenhower, you are quite right of course." The king said his fit of rage now passed.

Sam just stood and stared numbly at Lord Showenhower. For a moment she'd thought he was coming to her aid, but he'd clearly just stepped forward to humiliate her, and worse, her father had approved. She felt the heat in her cheeks rise up and she blinked to hold back the angry tears she knew were coming.

"Samantha." Sam tore her gaze from the advisor to look at her father once more. He had a glare on his face as he said, "We have experienced tension from the Baxterville province for several years now. This was _not _helped by your actions this morning, but we have managed to come to an agreement while we were clearing up the mess you caused. As of now, you are engaged to Prince Dashiel. You will leave tomorrow for Baxterville and you will play your role as princess and fiancée appropriately. The wedding will take place one month from now, and I expect you to bare an heir within a year afterwards. If you fail to fulfill your duties as such, I will have First Lieutenant Valerie Gray executed for treason."

"W-what?" Sam whispered quietly.

The king raised an eyebrow and said, "Don't look so surprised. You thought I wouldn't notice your friendship with someone who is below you station? I have tolerated it up to this point only because of her once noble heritage, but, if this is what is required to force your compliance, I will cease my goodwill. Now, you are excused. I have already ordered maids to pack you things so be sure you don't get in their way when you return to your room." With that dismissal, the king sat down on his throne and began to have a quiet conversation with Lord Showenhower.

Unable to say anything without endangering her best friend, Sam bit her tongue and, spinning on her heel, marched from the throne room. She didn't even notice as the hated doors opened for her as she exited. It was only once they were firmly shut behind her that the gravity of the situation hit her with full force and she felt the beginnings of tears roll down her face. Holding back a sob, she ran.

She wasn't sure how long or how far she ran, and it wasn't until she found herself in the garden that she stopped. Panting heavily, Sam made her way to the cluster of bushes from the day before and sat in their midst. She pulled her knees to her chest and, closing her eyes, she rested her head and cried.

* * *

"Danny, you should really get some rest before the raid tonight." Jazz said as she came into the command room.

Danny looked up from the holo-map he'd been inspecting to smile tiredly at his sister. "I will later Jazz. Me and Tucker need to go over this one more time to make sure everything goes smoothly." Danny bent over the map of the inner city again. "What about if guard drones come in from this direction?" He said, pointing to a spot on the map.

"We'll have that area covered by Mikey's team." Tucker replied. "The guy's a wimp at hand to hand, but he's one of our best snipers. That and he's good at slipping in and out of tight places. He and his team'll cover for the recovery team by destroying any drone reinforcements moving in from the north. Afterwards, they'll slip out before they're found. Honestly, the biggest risk goes to Kwan's ground team making the distraction in the eastern sector of the inner city; they'll have to deal with most of the inner city's defense."

"That's why Danny's going in as support. So things don't get ugly." Jazz said as she stood next to her brother and bent over the map.

"Yes, but that's not all. With our mission from last night a success, I was able to hack into their power grid. The moment we strike, all the power will be out and the drones will have a pretty hard time fighting in the dark. The night-vision goggles Vlad designed will keep our people from having the same issues."

"Off course there's the issue that some of the drones also have night-vision capabilities." Jazz said.

Danny looked up from the map and grinned at Tucker, waiting for his friend to reply.

"Actually," Tucker said with a smirk, "I also managed to hack their defense system after our little mission last night. It was actually pretty easy now that I think about it. Not sure if that's awesome or depressing. You'd think that-"

"Tucker." Danny laughed. "You're rambling again."

"Oh, right." Tucker cleared his throat and said, "Well, as I said, I hacked into their defense system too. Not only am I able to track the drones' movements, I'm also able to mess with some of their more basic programing functions. While there weren't very many with night-vision, I managed to find out which ones had it and shut down the program. None of them will be able to use it."

"That's brilliant!" Jazz exclaimed.

Tucker grinned and said, "All in a day's work for techno-geek."

"My, it sounds like you kids have come up with a rather water-tight plan. I would like to take credit for a bit of that."

"Vlad! You're back!" Jazz said in surprise as she spun around to look at the newest person in the room.

Danny couldn't help but wince a bit as he followed his sister's lead and said, "How did that business deal in Green Harbor go?"

"Very well, thank you Daniel. With this new trade route in place, I'll be able to import seafood to Amity at a much cheaper price and in larger quantities. Of course, this also means it will be easier to lose track of. Should some of it happen to make its way into the slums, oops, who am I to say what happened?" He chuckled a bit before surveying the map casually.

As much as Vlad had done for him and Jazz in the two years since their parents died, Danny was still uncomfortable with accepting the man's help. Their previous two year rivalry was hard to completely shake off. It was true Vlad had changed since then, but there were some things that hadn't, and those things bothered Danny.

Danny knew that Vlad didn't really care about the people in the slums or the rebellion. He was motivated to help them mostly out of revenge against the nobility. That and to foster goodwill with the people that would be in charge after he used the rebellion to crush the nobility. Nevertheless, Danny couldn't deny that a lot of the success the rebels had had in the past two years came from the backdoor dealings Vlad made with them. That, and the aid from the Ghost Zone, had really pushed the rebels agenda forward years ahead of schedule.

"That's good to hear." Tucker said as he turned and started to walk towards a raised platform on one side of the room. "I'll let the others in the base know. Now, I'm gonna catch some shut eye. I'll see you guys later tonight." With that, Tucker stepped onto the raised platform and said, "Tucker Foley to point RB1"

"Acknowledged, clearance level acceptable, preparing for teleportation." A mechanical voice said right before a flash of green light filled the room.

Danny blinked back the spots in his vision and glanced at the platform that now stood empty. Besides the Ghost Portal, the Ghost Warp was the most impressive of his parent's inventions. He and Jazz had discovered its blueprints, among other things from the lab, in the smoking remains of their old home. With Vlad's help, the three of them had managed to get it to work as homage to the inventors. It also stood to remind them of their purpose for joining the rebellion.

Trying to take his mind of such depressing thoughts, Danny sighed and said, "I'm gonna follow Tucker's lead and get some sleep before this whole thing goes down." Without another word he changed into his ghost form and floated through the ceiling to head for his room.

* * *

It was nearing sunset when Sam found herself on the balcony outside her room. The maids had just left after ransacking her room and closet. They'd packed all the frilly pink dresses she hated, confiscated anything they'd found that her mother wouldn't approve of, and the worst part of it was that there was nothing she could do about it. She never wanted anyone else to suffer because of her own actions, and that certainly included her best friend.

Unable to stand the sight of the room that had been stripped of everything that identified it as hers, Sam had chosen to sit on the balcony and watch the sun drop below the edge of the wall. She couldn't believe what was happening. That her father would practically sell her for the sake of some stupid relationship with one of his provinces was absurd. She'd was angry with him, but even that anger paled at what she felt towards herself for being unable to stop him. She'd never felt more powerless. She clenched her teeth and stood up from her chair. She needed to take her mind off such depressing thoughts or she'd break down again.

Walking into her room she approached the dove cage and opened its control panel. She set it into hover mode and pushed it out onto the balcony. Once she had it where she wanted it she opened the control panel again and shut down its one-way force field. Once she was certain it was off, she opened the wire door and stepped aside as the birds took off. She smiled sadly as she watched them fly over the wall towards the sunset.

"At least you guys are free now."

She'd been standing there for a while, lost in thought, when she heard a soft knock on her balcony door. She turned her head towards her room to tell whoever it was to go away but her vice caught in her throat when she saw who it was.

Grandma Manson sat on her hover scooter with a sad look on her face. "Sam, dear, do you mind if we talk?" she said softly.

"Ye-yeah, I mean, no, I don't mind." Sam said as she crossed the balcony and, after opening the door, stepped into her room.

Her grandmother had already moved to the bed and was sitting on in when she patted the spot next to her and said, "Take a seat."

Listening, Sam sat down next to the old queen and was surprised when she was suddenly caught up in a hug. She held back a few tears that had started to resurface and hugged her grandmother back, burying her face in the woman's shoulder.

They sat like that for a while before her grandmother said, "I'm sorry. I know you don't usually like physical contact, but I couldn't restrain myself. I love you Sam."

Sam sniffed and managed to choke out, "I love you too."

Her grandmother tightened her hug briefly before pulling back and, gently cupping Sam's chin, pulled the younger girl's face up so that their eyes met.

"You've grown into such a beautiful and kind young woman Sam. I want you to know how proud I am of you."

"Thank you Grandma."

Her grandmother smiled sadly and continued, "That's why I honestly can't bare the thought of you losing yourself after everything that's happened today. I want you to continue to question things and do what you feel is right no matter the consequences. To those ends, I want to see the woman you will become, but, it's become clear to me that you won't become that woman if you stay here."

"Grandma?" Sam asked in confusion.

The old woman took a slow breath and closed her eyes before she said, "I've decided to give you a choice I'm going to give you a choice."

"A choice?"

"Yes, a choice." She then opened her eyes and said, "I find that my favorite part of the castle is right by the kitchens. I played there many times as a young girl, and became great friends with the suit of armor at the end of the hall. He had such personality!" She smiled fondly and chuckled at Sam's confused expression. "I liked to pretend he was a young lord that I was greeting and after a brief curtsy I always broke protocol by giving him a handshake."

"I don't understand…"

"Oh, maybe I'm just old and babbling. Or, maybe you should go out and meet my old friend while I head to bed." Grandma Manson stood up and eased herself onto her scooter and heading for the door. Once she was in the hallway she turned back around and said, "Oh, and Sam, I find that it's best to explore that part of the castle with a friend, but see to it that you dress warmly and aren't wearing gown. It can get a bit drafty." She winked as the door closed, leaving a bewildered Sam alone in her room.

* * *

"I honestly don't know why you dragged me here so late at night." Valerie said as she frowned at Sam.

It had been shortly after eleven when Sam had knocked on Valerie's bedroom door in the guardhouse. The moment Valerie had opened the door Sam had jumped in and, after quickly shutting the door behind her, pleaded with her friend for a change of clothes. Once Sam was clothed in a pair of black pants and a tight, black, long-sleeved shirt, she had all but dragged Valerie out of the guard house and into the castle.

"I told you, my grandma said this was a fun spot to explore." Sam whispered as she rounded a corner into the hallway that led to the kitchen.

"At midnight?" Valerie said skeptically before she continued, "And why the heck are we wearing cloaks?"

"So nobody sees us obviously. I'm about to be shipped off to Baxterville. No way are my parents letting me roam the palace this late at night." Was Sam's reply before she said, "Here it is."

"We came all this way to see a suit of armor?" Valerie deadpanned.

Sam didn't answer as she inspected the suit of armor. "Grandma said to shake his hand…" She said before she reached out and firmly grasped the armor's hand. Then she grinned.

"Your Grandma said what now?" Valerie just stared at Sam with a concerned look on her face.

"What's this?" Sam said and then both girls heard a soft scraping sound coming from the wall to their right. Always prepared, Valerie drew her blaster pistol and pointed it at… a hole that had opened up in the wall.

"What is that?!" She exclaimed.

"SHHHH! Someone will hear you." Sam replied as she went over to inspect the hole with disbelieving eyes. "To think this was here the whole time. I must have passed it dozens of times and I never knew."

"That's probably a good thing. I should report this, it could possibly be used to invade the palace…"

"No! You can't! This is our ticket out of here!" Sam said hurriedly.

"Ticket out of here? Sam! Are you crazy!? We can't just leave! We don't even know if it goes out of the palace!" Valerie hissed.

"I'm sure it does! And we _have _to leave. I can't stay here any longer!"

"Sam, I know you're upset about the whole thing but… if we just give your father time he'll probably cool down. In any case I'm sure you can figure out something that will stop the wedding if you really don't want to marry Dashiel-"

"There's nothing I can do Valerie. If I stay I'm going to marry Dashiel there's no way to avoid it this time."

"Sure there is, just swing from the chandelier in the dining hall at the Baxterville castle or something and they'll send you back."

"I can't do that. Not when it would put my best friend in danger."

"W…What do you mean?" Valerie asked apprehensively.

Sam shook her head and glared before answering. "My father said that if I acted up again in any way he would have you executed."

"I'm sure he wouldn't actually…"

"Follow through with that threat? Valerie, you _know_ he would. How else do you think you got your position on the Royal Guard? The last guy broke some dumb rule my dad set up and he was executed for it!"

"He actually said that?" Valerie asked in a small voice her eyes were wide as dinner plates.

"Yes. He did. Which is why if we stay here I'm going to marry Dashiel and have his baby by this time next year, all so my father doesn't have my only friend executed. It's also why I can't leave here without you. If I do you'll be dead this time tomorrow."

Valerie looked horrified. "What about my father?" she whispered.

"I don't think my dad would harm him. He's the best Captain of the Guard the palace has ever had; my grandma says so all the time. I'm sure she would protect him if my dad really did go after him though." Sam said quietly.

Valerie looked down at the ground so the shadows hid her face from view. She was quiet for a moment before she looked up with a sudden determination in her eyes. "Alright, let's go. I'm not about to let my best friend ruin her life to spare mine." She said as she stepped into the hole in the wall and pulled a plasma torch from her belt.

Sam smiled in relief and followed.

* * *

"_This is A1 to Command. The distraction team is in place T1. I repeat, Team Alpha is go. Over._" Kwan said.

"_Copy that Team Alpha. B1, is your team in place? Over."_ Tucker replied.

"_This is B1, all set with the recovery team T1."_ Jazz said.

"_B1, this is T1, you're supposed to say over. Over."_

Danny chuckled as he listened to the conversation over the Fenton Phones. Even though this was a serious raid on a large food storage facility, everyone still found time to joke around a bit.

"_What?" _Jazz asked. Danny could practically hear the confusion in her voice.

"_No B1, you're supposed to say over. Over."_

"_Uh… over."_

"_Guess that'll have to do. P1 make sure you explain to B1 later how we do this. Over"_

"_Will do T1. Over."_ Danny said into his set of Fenton Phones.

"_Oh my gosh Foley! Stop messing around."_ Came Star's exasperated voice.

"_That's a negative B1. And you forgot to say over. Over."_

Danny had to pull the headphones out of his ears as a loud tirade of curses, courtesy of Star, assaulted his ears. After he did that he took a chance to survey his surroundings.

He was floating invisibly above a tall tower where he could clearly see the Alpha Team's target. It was a rather unimposing building on the outside, but they'd gathered intel on it that said otherwise. According to Tucker, it was a high tech lab where the king had all sorts of weapons produced and made. What a country that wasn't at war wanted with so many weapons was anybody's guess, but the rebels were determined to make sure those weapons weren't used on them, or anyone else in the slums for that matter. It was for this reason that they had decided to use this building as the distraction Alpha Team was going to make.

As far as the government knew, the rebels didn't know about the lab so they didn't keep the lab heavily guarded in an attempt to keep suspicion off the building. The rebels were going to use that to their advantage. They knew that, with the small number of guards on location, the attack was sure to draw in a large portion of the security from the rest of the city. The Alpha Team were in for a tough fight even with the lights in the city off. That was where Danny came in. He was to act as support for the team, but that wasn't his only mission.

The Alpha Team wasn't just the distraction for the Beta Team. It was also a distraction to give him an opening so he could slip into the facility, download a copy of all the data on the mainframe, and upload a virus to destroy the facility afterwards. They were hitting two birds with one stone on this raid.

"_This is Team Omega leader O1 to Command. We're in position. Over." _Danny heard Mikey's voice come faintly from the headphones he was holding in his hand. He hurriedly placed them back in his ears and prepared himself to get started.

"_All right everyone. This is T1. I don't need to repeat to you all how important this mission is. We all know what's at stake. Get in fast, finish your job and clear out. Nobody needs to play hero and get themselves killed. Got it? Over."_

There was a brief silence over the channel before Tucker continued. _"Here we go then. Shutting down the power grid in 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3,2…"_

* * *

"How long is this tunnel anyway?" Valerie asked as she shone her plasma torch around cautiously.

"No idea, but I kind of like it in here. It's dark, earthy, and my parents aren't here." Sam said as she looked around.

Valerie cast a wry smile back at her friend. "You _would_ like it here."

"Well it's too late to go back now even if I didn't. The door sealed itself shut behind us; I bet it only opens from the inside."

"I'll take it as a small comfort that terrorists couldn't sneak in even if they knew about it. That is, unless someone on the inside let them in first." Valerie said.

"Not really sure why you care so much. I wouldn't want anything to happen to Grandma, but right now I'm not sure how much I'd care if anything happened to my mom or dad." Sam said bitterly. Valerie didn't reply.

They walked in silence for a while until Valerie said, "I think I see some light up ahead."

"Really?" Sam asked as she jogged past Valerie in anticipation. She didn't have to go far before she was certain there was light up ahead. Barely able to contain her excitement at seeing what was past the palace walls, Sam sprinted forward.

"Hold up there Sam!" Valerie called after her before running to catch up.

Not listening, Sam reached the end of the tunnel and gasped in surprise. The tunnel they were standing in was blocked off by heavy looking iron bars running vertically from the floor to the ceiling. the tunnel continued just past the iron bars, and Sam could see light coming from a bit further down.

"Looks like it's sealed off." Valerie said with a frown on her face.

"No, it can't be!" Sam said, and she reached forward to grab the bars only to watch as her hand slipped right through them. "It's a hologram." She said in surprise.

Valerie stepped forward and put her hand through the hologram too. "Let me check it out first. You wait here." She drew her blaster pistol and jumped through the hologram and onto the other side.

Sam rolled her eyes and followed after Valerie. "You know I don't do the whole 'wait here' thing." She said as she came to stand next to her friend. She looked around the dusty old room they were standing in. "It doesn't look like anyone comes down here." She said.

Valerie looked displeased but didn't say anything, instead opting to walk to the stairs on the far side of the room. Sam followed but looked back to see where they'd come from. As far as she could tell, she was looking at a section of blank wall in the basement of a building.

"Well, I don't really need to know where it is since I'm never going back." She said to the room before following Valerie up the stairs and out of the room.

The upper floor appeared to be an abandoned warehouse of some sort so they quickly crossed the large room to get to the door. Working together, they pushed the door open. It was rusted and made a loud creaking noise that made Sam wince. She really didn't want to get caught now. Once they opened the door, they stepped through it and both girls, who had never been out of the palace, looked around in awe.

For one, it was bright as day outside even though it was well past midnight. Hover cars zipped overhead and lit walkways extended high into the air to connect tall buildings to each other. The sight was impressive even to Sam who had always disliked the idea of urban blight.

"This place is really cool. What side of town are we on?" Sam asked quietly.

"You're asking me?" Valerie raised her eyebrow.

"Right. Well, I suppose it's a good thing I brought this then." Sam said as she took out a round device with a needle that swayed in its center.

"What is _that_?" Valerie asked.

"It belonged to Grandma. She called it a compass. She said people used to use them all the time way back in the old days. It's been in the family for generations." Sam said as she studied the needle.

"Well, what's it do?"

"It points north."

"That's it?"

Sam shrugged. "I guess. This thing's ancient Val, how am I supposed to know how people 500 years ago used it? It points north. That's all I know."

"Well I suppose it's a start…"

"It definitely is. With this I know where the palace is. We're on the eastern side of the city right now. We'll just go in the opposite direction and we're sure to run into the commoner section of the city. Grandma told me in the past that they don't care who leaves the upper city so we shouldn't have any problems getting through the guard checkpoint. After that we'll be home free!"

"You're unusually optimistic about this…" Valerie said. She sounded unsure.

Sam grinned. "Of course I'm optimistic about this. It'll take them forever to figure out I'm not in the palace, and by the time they do figure it out I'll have disappeared into the crowd in the lower city. Plus, I'm positively ecstatic that I won't have to marry Dashiel. Nothing could ruin this for me!" Sam said just as everything went completely dark.


End file.
